In
Greek mythology,
Pontus (;
Pontos, "Sea") was an ancient, pre-Olympian sea-god, one of the
Greek primordial deities. Pontus was
Gaia's son and, according to the Greek poet
Hesiod, he was born without coupling, though according to
Hyginus, Pontus was fathered by
Aether. For Hesiod, Pontus seems little more than a personification of the sea,
ho pontos, "the Road", by which Hellenes signified the
Mediterranean Sea. With Gaia, he fathered
Nereus (the
Old Man of the Sea),
Thaumas (the awe-striking "wonder" of the Sea, embodiment of the sea's dangerous aspects),
Phorcys and his sister-consort
Ceto, and the "Strong Goddess"
Eurybia. With the sea goddess
Thalassa (whose own name simply means "sea" but is derived from a
Pre-Greek root), he fathered the
Telchines and all sea life.